if you get a mint Rolex with all the paper work, something that MSRP's for $6k - $7k that you get for $5k, you will not have paid too much because you'll always be able to recoup most of your investment easily if you decide to sell it.

a lot of other watches do not retain resale as readily, or at least take more work to sell. Rolex has such broad appeal in North America that it's a safe bet. As is Omega.

Lower end watches like Tissot, Movado etc. can be bought at outlets or department stores on deep discounts and have little resale potential.

Higher end, more obscure stuff like Glashutte, Zenith, etc. have a more limited market (Serious watch douches) and are a bit tougher to flip than a Rolex.

Hamilton is a good entry swiss watch, however, for a starter auto i would recommend Oris. They are the official BMW F1 watch and you can pick them up off ebay, WUS or timezone for great prices, fully depreciated. I made money on my first Oris and wouldnt lose on the Oris that i still have.

however, even though the quality is there with Oris the wrist-presence is not up to Omega / Rolex / Panerai

Some good points here, thanks! Maybe Rolex isn't out of reach then. I hear you on the ORIS, thing is if I'm spending past $2k, I expect a certain level of cache` to come with the watch I buy, anything less is like - should of just bought something much cheaper.

if you get a mint Rolex with all the paper work, something that MSRP's for $6k - $7k that you get for $5k, you will not have paid too much because you'll always be able to recoup most of your investment easily if you decide to sell it.

a lot of other watches do not retain resale as readily, or at least take more work to sell. Rolex has such broad appeal in North America that it's a safe bet. As is Omega.

Higher end, more obscure stuff like Glashutte, Zenith, etc. have a more limited market (Serious watch douches) and are a bit tougher to flip than a Rolex.

Hamilton is a good entry swiss watch, however, for a starter auto i would recommend Oris. They are the official BMW F1 watch and you can pick them up off ebay, WUS or timezone for great prices, fully depreciated. I made money on my first Oris and wouldnt lose on the Oris that i still have.

however, even though the quality is there with Oris the wrist-presence is not up to Omega / Rolex / Panerai

+10000000000, what he said...

@op: I'd say it depends on how and what occasion in which you are going to wear your watch. For an all around watch I'd stick with a used rolex for your budget. You could pick up a mint gmt or subs or explorer 2 white dial. Or if you want one for a more formal occasion then, save up a little more and get a used jaeger reverso duo grande

Not to start a flame war, but TAG and Movado are not in the same league as higher-end watches like Breitling, Omega, and Sinn.

Rolex and Panerai are also good watches, but I do think you pay higher prices to support their marketing efforts. At those price points (above $5,000) you get a better watch if you look at IWC or Zenith.

Not to start a flame war, but TAG and Movado are not in the same league as higher-end watches like Breitling, Omega, and Sinn.

Rolex and Panerai are also good watches, but I do think you pay higher prices to support their marketing efforts. At those price points (above $5,000) you get a better watch if you look at IWC or Zenith.

Yep, I agree. Hence my nixing Tag and Movado overall. Just too generic for the most part. There are some exceptions, but I'd rather have a watch at that price range be from a brand that's exclusive most (if not all) of the time vs. an exception here or there.

I looked at IWC, but a bit too bland for my tastes. What I really want is a Hublot. Given my taste, I'll end up with a Rolex Subm., Panerai Luminor, or Breitling Chronomat Flying Fish.

Class-of2013,
Sound like you have your eyes on either a Rolex, a Breitling or a Panerai. Whichever brand that you are going to pick, please do try them on first and see if it is comfortable enough on your wrist and sits nicely i.e. the watch should not bulged out as if you were wearing a hockey puck on your wrist..

good luck and keep us posted!

how do you attach a pic btw?

Last edited by lmaleke; 12-31-2012 at 05:27 AM.
Reason: trying to attached a pic

finally i am able to attached a pic...
I wear the gmt much more than the hublot (the hublot is a gift from my father inlaw). The GMT2 sits much more comfortably on my wrist than the later...

If you're buying used, be aware that the Subs and GMT's changed over to a larger case frame a couple of years ago (yours is an older small frame GMT) and so the newer ones do sit larger on the wrist than the older versions.

I have an older Rolex 16610 Submariner which I love for it's classic simplicity of design, and toughness.

finally i am able to attached a pic...
I wear the gmt much more than the hublot (the hublot is a gift from my father inlaw). The GMT2 sits much more comfortably on my wrist than the later...

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeeRam

If you're buying used, be aware that the Subs and GMT's changed over to a larger case frame a couple of years ago (yours is an older small frame GMT) and so the newer ones do sit larger on the wrist than the older versions.

I have an older Rolex 16610 Submariner which I love for it's classic simplicity of design, and toughness.

Thanks, I did not know about the size of the casing changing from year to year. I will def. try the watch on if I end up getting the one I want.

Go with something understated and timeless. If it's your first big watch purchase you'll want to choose something you can wear every day so that you can continuously justify the cost to yourself.

If my wrists weren't so big I'd buy a the new cased Submariner.. but to make a sub look proportional on me I have to go with the 44mm DSSD which is considerably more expensive LOL. So I'm waiting on that one.

Here are a couple pics of my 176K I bought back in 2008. I paid $4800 when new, now MSRP is $5800 for this particular model and set to rise again in 2013.. So as long as you're in it for the long haul PAMs seem to be pretty good at holding their value.

I love how versatile this watch is. You can dress it up/down with different straps and it just looks looks so understated an elegant under a shirt cuff... Icing on the cake is that the hand-winding movement makes such a satisfying noise when it's running. A very audible tic-tic-tic-tic.

If you're looking to pick up that one daily watch to wear for the next lifetime, I'd suggest going to a store that carries multiple brands and trying on a few. Some fit right and some just don't. Depends on case, band material, etc. You definitely want to make sure that you enjoy wearing it.

As far as brand, get whatever catches your eye. My watches range from $50 to $5000.

The thing about watches is, you should be wearing the watch, not vice versa. Not to pick on a specific brand, but those Hublots are so "look at me" that it becomes all about the watch. Not very timeless, in my opinion. And pardon the pun. Also the reason why most Breitlings don't appeal to me.

I'm not a big fan of Rolex, but I would make an exception for a Sea Dweller or maybe a Sub...